Garment-stretcher.



' No. 697,103. Patented Ap n, 8, I902.

E. PICKHABDT. I GARMENT STRETGHEB. (Application filed July 13, 1901.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMILE PICKHARDT, OF ISLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

GARM ENT-S'TRETCHER.

SPE CIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 697,103, dated April 8, 1902.

Application filed July 13,1901.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Beitknown thatI,EMILEPICKHARDT,aciti- Zen of the United States, residing at Islington, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Garment-Stretchers, of which the following description,in connection with the accom panying drawings, is a specification,like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

Garment-hangers as now made, especially those used for trousers, either clamp the ends of the legs together or fill the waistband or engage buttons of the waistband. I find in practice that the weight of the trousers hanging from the legs is of some help in enabling the creases to be defined. I have provideda hanger having a plurality of prongs, two of which enter each leg of the trousers and capable of being separated to stretch and fit the leg, so that the trousers may be suspended thereby. I have also for the first provided a hanger which may be used to suspend trousers either end up, so that the purchaser of the hanger mayhave an opportunity to hang up his trousers as he may desire.

Figure 1 shows a preferred form of my improved hanger, and Fig. 2 shows my invention as it may be used if desired.

The ban geris composed, essentially, of sliding bars a, 1), each bar having aguiding-loop, as c or cl, for the other bar, each loop, as herein shown, having pivoted to it the ends of a two-part suspending device having a suitable joint 2 and a hook 3. The barb has, as shown, a series of notches 4, which may be engaged bya suitable locking device 5, shown as a spring-controlled lever free to turn on a suitable pivot in the bar a. The outer end of each bar a and b is shown in Fig. 1 as having attached to it a like head 9 e, composed of a piece of metal secured in place by a suitable pin, as 6, each of the two sides of the head having suitable openings 7, which may receive buttons connected with the waistband of a pair of trousers, and by moving the bars in a direction to separate the heads the trousers, held by two buttons at the front and two at the back, may be properly suspended.

I have in one embodiment of myinvention Serial No. 68,231- (No model.)

provided the heads with two prongs g h, preferably toothed at their outer edges, so that when two prongs g and h are inserted within the end of a trousers-leg and the barsaand b are moved one on the other said prongs will act to hold the legs Hat and suspend the trousets from the ends of the legs. A person owning a hanger of the kind so far-described may hang up his trousers either end up, as he may desire, and also the head may be used to sustain a skirt, the latter embracing byits band the concaved outer faces of the head.

If desired, I may attach the prongs directly to the bars, as shown in Fig. 2,where the bar Z) is represented as having depending from it the two prongs g. I believe that I am the first not only to provide a hanger for hanging trousers either end up, but that I am the first to provide a hanger having a plurality of prongs to engage the inner sides of both trousers legs to suspend the same from the legs.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. A trousers-hanger comprising two bars connected to slide with relation to each other, one end of each bar being provided with a head for engaging the waistband of trousers, and prongs carried by the heads to enter and engage the legs of trousers to thereby enable the trousers to be suspended with the waistband either up or down.

2. A trousers-hanger provided with means to engage trousers at their waistband and with separate and independent means to engage the ends of the trousers-legs to thereby enable the trousers to be suspended at will to engage trousers at their Waistband and In testimony whereof I have signed my withseparate and independent means to enname to this specification in the presence of [O gage the ends of the trousers-legs to thereby two subscribing Witnesses. enable the trousers to be suspended at will 5 with, the waistband either up or down,'the EMILE PICKHARDT means for engaging the Waistband having WVitnesses: provisions forengaging buttons on said waist- GEO. W. GREGORY, band.

EDITH M. STODDARD. 

